Inferring—making inferences—is often described as making a logical guess
or "reading between the lines." Making an inference is a lot like the
chemical process of forming a chemical compound—when two elements combine and form
a new substance. Readers make inferences when they are able to take their own experiences
and combine them with information they gather from what they read. The result is
that they create new meaning or draw a conclusion that isn't explicitly stated in
the reading (Zweirs, 2005).

If readers use no other resources than their own background knowledge to create
meaning, their comprehension of a subject is limited. On the other hand, using only
text disallows the validity of their personal point of view, no connection is made,
and only literal comprehension may result. When readers infer, they are personally
engaged with the text, are more aware of the author's purpose, and are processing
to deeper meaning (Zweirs, 2005).

Kelly Gallagher (2004) says that "good readers infer when they read; that is,
they see and consider things that are not literally on the printed page" (p.
80). When reading text, many students find that making inferences is difficult.
In When Kids Can't Read (2003), Kylene Beers (2003) suggests specific types
of inferences skilled readers make as they read. To help less skilled readers learn
to make the same types of inferences, Beers suggests that teachers use short passages
to show students how to do the following:

Recognize the antecedents for pronouns

Figure out the meaning of unknown words from context clues

Figure out the grammatical function of an unknown word

Understand intonation of characters' words

Identify characters' beliefs, personalities, and motivations

Understand characters' relationships to one another

Provide details about the setting

Provide explanations for events or ideas that are presented in the
text

Offer details for events or their own explanations of the events

Understand the author's view of the world

Recognize the author's biases

Relate what is happening in the text to their own knowledge of the
world

Often, inferring is introduced to students by using familiar symbols, activities,
and environments from which they automatically draw inferences or make predictions
(an inference about the future).

For example, suppose you are about to begin a unit on the Great Depression. You
might have students view a picture of the exterior of a mansion and then of a soup
line or a Hooverville. Then, through questioning, students focus on details, making
inferences about the people who live in both places, their socioeconomic status,
the kinds of food they eat, the kinds of activities they pursue.

From Question-to-Inference Chart
A number of graphic organizers are very helpful to students who struggle to make
inferences, because the organizers help the students focus on textual details, bring
into play their own thoughts about the topic or information, and then create meaning—make
an inference. Because inferences are deeper meanings not stated directly in the
text, it's important for teachers to "walk through" each organizer—to
fill it out together with the students—as a way to model the process.

The chart below (based on Beers's "It Says, I Say, and So" chart, 2003,
p. 166) is a good example of a graphic organizer that allows students to visualize
the steps in making an inference. Initially, students respond to a question that
can only be answered by inference, even though the question is about a particular
reading or text. First the students have to find out what the reading says. Then
they add, in their own words, their thoughts about what the reading says. Finally,
the students combine what the reading says and their thoughts to answer the question
and thus create new meaning—the inference.

As an example, in introducing this organizer, you might ask students to read "Purchase,"
by Naomi Madgett (2001). Hand out the organizer and have students answer the questions
based on facts and details found in the reading (in this case, a poem). Explain
to students that although they may add several comments for each of the two middle
boxes, those comments should lead to only one inference that builds their comprehension
of the speaker's character. Before the students begin, you might want to fill out
an organizer with the class to model the process.

Question

What kind of "purchase" does the speaker really make?

What the reading says

"I like the smell of new clothes"

"This dress has no past/ Linked with regretful memories"

"I prefer the new scent/ Of a garment unworn,/ Untainted"

What I think

I like it too when I get new jeans or sneakers.

She must have some old clothes that remind her of bad times.

She wants new clothes, ones that are fresh and unused.

My answer to the question—what I infer

She wants her life to feel like the way you feel when you buy new clothes, fresh
and unused.

Other Graphic Organizers
For a variation on the above organizer, you might use a circular graphic organizer
like the one entitled "Inference Notes," found at the Greece Central School
District site at http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/6-12/Tools/inferencenotes.pdf.
In this organizer, students place literal information in the inside wedges of the
circle and inferences in the outer wedges of the circle.

Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis (2000) also provide several graphic organizers
that elicit inferential responses in a variety of ways. These are especially useful
with younger children.

From the ORC Collection
For a during-reading lesson that hones the skill of inferring, have a look at "Tenement
Life: Mapping Texts and Making Models," part of the ORC collection. The description
in the ORC record (Record #3821) reads:

In this lesson, students explore issues related to mass immigration in the United
States. Students identify hardships and injustices of tenement life and visit websites
that provide virtual tours through tenement apartments of the Lower East Side of
New York in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Using primary source documents and online
resources, students gather facts, make inferences, generate questions, and evaluate
bias and purpose. As a final project, students use information gathered and work
in small groups to construct tenement apartment models. This lesson works well as
an interdisciplinary project and may be woven into a broader study of immigration.
(author/ncl)

Making inferences after reading is valuable when students are continuing their exploration
or seeking to build their comprehension. Jeff Zwiers (2005) explains that text-to-text
inferences "allow us to connect one part of a text to another. For a particular
section of text, comprehension depends . . . on text information that preceded it"
(p. 82).

From the ORC Collection
For an after-reading lesson on inferring, "Censorship in the Classroom: Understanding
Controversial Issues" serves as a useful model. The commentary in the ORC record
(Record #2771) notes:

This lesson helps students to understand the ways in which bias and stereotyping
are used by the media to influence popular opinion. Students examine propaganda
and media bias and explore a variety of banned and challenged books, researching
the reasons these books have been censored. Following this research, students choose
a side of the censorship issue and support their position through the development
of an advertising campaign. Because this lesson uses resources and texts that may
be viewed as controversial, it is recommended that parental notification occur prior
to teaching. (author/ncl)

Making predictions about the future is a kind of inference. Kelly Gallagher (2004,
p. 204) helps students with unfamiliar vocabulary by asking them to make vocabulary
"predictions." Before reading, the students are asked to make a logical
guess about the meanings of five unfamiliar words. He then instructs them to take
note of the words as they read to see if the context supports their predicted definition.
After several readings with the teacher and collaborating with others, students
can revise their vocabulary predictions.